Rolemaster

Overview

Rolemaster is a fantasy tabletop roleplaying game known for its percentile dice, detailed skill system and graphic, table-driven combat, published by Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE). It began in 1980 as a set of rules grown out of house rules developed by Pete Fenlon, S. Coleman Charlton and Kurt Fischer for a Middle-earth Dungeons & Dragons campaign at the University of Virginia. Rolemaster Unified (RMU) is the newest edition. It was released in December 2022 after a long public playtest, and it draws on the Rolemaster Classic (RMC) and Rolemaster Fantasy Role Playing (RMFRP) lines. It is issued as Core Law, Spell Law, Creature Law and Treasure Law, with a Character Companion and an Arcane Companion alongside. ICE still sells the older RMC and RMFRP lines too. The game has a reputation as one of the hobby's most intricate fantasy rule sets, and a reviewer of the Unified core book called it extremely complex and described it as "at a fundamental level the same game" as the 1980 original. Its setting-neutral rules have an official setting in Shadow World, and ICE's older lines also include Middle-earth Role Playing (MERP) and the simplified HARP.

Description

Players create adventurers from a wide menu of races, cultures and professions, and the Game Master (GM) runs them through a fantasy campaign in whatever world the table prefers. Every skill is open to every character. A profession decides how cheaply a character can develop each one, so two characters can be built very differently from the same pool of points. The game asks a table to accept a lot of numbers. Combat is built on tables and a hit can end in a gruesome critical result, so players have to weigh how aggressively to fight against the risk of a death-dealing blow. It rewards groups who like building a character in detail and don't mind looking things up, and it is hard going for those who want to run a game from memory.

Active games and players

en English
DND3.5E
Dungeons & Dragons 3.5
GW7E
Gamma World 7E
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Online
Melancholy Jack
Grimdark veteran System master
Old-School GM (Only) Multiverse/World Builder Basic, 3.5, Gamma World, Talislanta Voice: Discord World Management: Realm Works VTT: D20Pro (4 free seats at the table) Character Creation & Maintenance: PCGen --- Upcoming Postings: The Cities of Man - Gamma World GW3 Series Heroes Unknown
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en English
Homebrew
Homebrew
MOTHERSHIP
Mothership
...
Lowell
JMtheGM
Hello! I'm an experienced GM and have been playing many TTRPGs for a long, long time. Let's just say my first set of D&D books came ina little white box. I love playing at a table with people who are looking to have fun and tell a great story. My games run form epic fanstasy to gritty to light-hearted. I have run games from one-shots, tournaments, campaigns, western-reaches style sandboxes, and short-run mini-campaigns. I lean toward character and story-driven games with palyer investment. I'd love to build a round table of gaming friends!
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en English
Homebrew
Homebrew
OSR
OSR
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Middleburg
Zack
For those in the Jacksonville, FL area, especially Clay County/Fleming Island/Middleburg,  I am looking to start up an in-person Castles & Crusades game soon, likely on Wednesday or Thursday nights. We have a really good venue, so it’s just a matter of gauging interest. Experience: New and veteran players more than welcome!  I am running again after a few years away, but have a lot of experience behind the screen with a lot of games. I have run longer campaigns of Rolemaster, Rifts, Savage Worlds, RuneQuest 6, and Castles & Crusades, along with multiple one-shots at conventions (including Palladium Fantasy and Microlite74).  Content: Expect some level of homebrew additions—lots of sandbox play, some house rules and classes I’ve already had or am kicking the tires on. C&C usually “feels” a lot like AD&D 1e in actual play, but with later d20 rules. I'm really looking to get back to the "sweet spot" that C&C represents. Not interested in 5e, Narrative Storygames, or Pathfinder 2e at this time (just not my thing, just putting it out there since those are common entries).  Play/Running Style: Encounters can be deadly; exploration, diplomacy, teamwork, creative problem-solving, and combat all have their place. What happens is all up to the decisions made around the table. Appropriate for most ages (keeping it pretty clean)—we just game. Friendly to new players--we will even have characters you can go with if you don't want or know how to roll one up. Hygiene and basic civility a must.
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